Edited by: tommyjl7

Rupert once again checked the silver chain that he had thrown over the werewolf’s head, arms, and legs. Upon touching the metal, his skin ignited for a moment letting out a small cloud of smoke.

- “That’s just in case you would want to leave the party early.” Rupert said politely. I knew he was nervous, maybe even terrified, but he did a great job not letting anyone know about it – especially to the devil and his fellow friends in arms.

- “Why would I flee, mortal? This body belongs to me now, and my businesses here are not yet finished.” Monstrosity hissed

- “Oh, I trust that you believe in what you say, now, pardon me for a minute, I have to double check if everything is in order…” The leader of the Brotherhood squad moved toward the table with dozens of tools “… Silver scissors? One pair. Silver hammer? One item. Silver nails? Twelve in total. Silver tongs? One pair…”

He continued to count all objects he was about to use on the devil. Just like “uncle Bob” used to, back in the inquisitor's castle. Such petty play could seriously damage the spirit of interrogated… Yet right now, I had different thoughts on my mind. Why did Rupert know all these things? He is certainly skilled with tools of terror and I doubt he learned that at the local blacksmith. After this, I will have to ask Rupert for a private conversation.

- “You have no idea how many things can be done with a single pair of tongs! How many places you can damage with just a few nails without causing too much trauma… or maybe you can? In the end, you are a devil, ain’t you?”

He was walking peacefully around the chair to which werewolf was bound, every once in a while vanishing behind his back, yet he never stopped talking. Most humans would start twisting their necks trying to see his torturer, yet Ageroshi sitting inside of Johann was peaceful. Calm. Maybe even amused.

- “You know what is the most beautiful part of our situation? That I don’t have to bother myself with restricting my fun at all! Thanks to your current state I am pretty much sure you will regenerate. Pulled of claw? It will re-grow within seconds! Cut-off finger? Minute? Or two? I can repeat the same action over and over again…”

- “…Until I would gain pain resistance? How thoughtful of you!” beast mocked

- “I have never seen a devil gaining resistance for silver.” I doubt you saw any devil before that at all...

He attached silver dagger to the monster face, he didn’t even cut, he just put it on his check. Monster snarled and jerked his head, but the burning mark remained. It was slowly regenerating, yet all the time the smoke was escaping the wound.

- “Now. Questions: How did you enter this realm? Why are you so focused on this particular village, and where is Johann.”

- “… the first question would be… Through your whore of a mother…” Beast mocked

Remarkable, how some offenses were not considered as a lie. Rupert stopped talking. Instead, he picked a single nail and put in between monster claw and finger. He just raised a brow at the monster, asking a silent question.

- “Just do it, you motherfucker! Do it! If you have a c… AGH!”

Monster’s monologue was stopped by a swing of the hammer. The nail dug between the claw and flesh, ripping it apart. Huge, curved claw was sent flying across the room.

- “Jasper, collect it and secure. We don’t want to repeat the mistake of Exorcism in Salem.”

This time I was the one asking a question by raising my brow. Rupert noticed it.

- “Long story short – the pieces of the body that were sent flying during the exorcism ended up behind the protective sigils…” he showed the marks on the ground with his head “… and started releasing miasma that later neutralized it. The interrogated later slaughter the whole village.”

Jasper quickly lowered himself, picked a claw with special tongs and put it into a box covered in protective sigils, similar to those on the ground.

In the meantime, the claw already started re-growing. It was only a matter of seconds before older hunter could once again bully the same finger over and over again.

- “Pathetic attempt!...” beast growled in anger “… I have spent eternity in purifying flames of hell! I was forced to cross the cathedral of retribution! The path of the exile! You have no idea what they did there to me! Your silver is as bad as mosquito’s stings! Annoying, but nothing more!”

Oh, but these were the tortures for the soul, not body which you recently possessed. The more time you spent in it, the more sensations you will receive. Every new torture would be more and more painful…

.. but every passing second is also the eternity of madness in which Johann loses himself more and more.

- “Rupert, would you have something against if I would borrow… pardon me, TAKE, the claw?”

Hunter, which was about to start hitting werewolf’s joints with hammer stopped, turned around and looked at me. His gaze was uneasy. Apparently, they needed the claw for something else.

- “Will it help our cause?” he asked after a moment

- “Depends on the outcome, but it surely wouldn’t harm it.

He wanted to reject my request, I saw it, but he owed me too much already.

- “Jasper…” he sighed.

Younger hunter with little hesitation passed me a small vessel. This was the first time during this interrogation when werewolf showed a little interest. I smiled back at him.

- “Be nice, I will be right back. Last advice, it would be best for you to start talking before I return.”

Then, I left the room.

Spirits are vulnerable to damages caused by pure metal because their very existence is a negation of anything that is pure, balanced and clean. In other words – these metal damages not the body, but their concept – their philosophical meaning. It shatters their structure hidden deep in the mortal vessel.

We have to use something, that could ignore the body and carve its path deeper. To the core. To the heart of the darkness. And this little claw could help me achieve this.

I quickly start walking toward the damaged altar in the middle of the forest, yet this time it was not about its meaning as a place of a cult. What I wanted was soil, still carrying a burden of corruption. On that soil, I wanted to grow a plant. A plant that instead of sun would require darkness – or in yet another words – miasma.

I know, I know, something like this requires the evolution of a plant – the long one. The plant would have to adapt itself to the new environment, and that requires centuries if not millennia. But, I am a druid. Accelerating plants grow is what I do on daily basis. I will have to force it to breed seeds, then force those seeds into growing and making more seeds. And again. And again. And again. Via selection and years of evolution reduced to mere hours, I hope to grow something, that would feast on the devil’s essence directly.

That much in theory. Now, time for practice.

I bowed under the altar, where the miasma in soil was most dense. And humming a chant I created a single seed. Burying it into the ground that normally nothing could grow from, I started channeling my mana.

It was much more difficult task than before. The soil had almost no minerals and water. It was barren, cracking under feet.

Yet, my dedication was not in vain. Slowly, very slowly, a single flower started growing. The stalk was thin, thorny, grey. I could almost believe it was about to snap under the gentlest breeze of wind. I felt its roots, trying to grow in all possible directions looking for anything to feast upon.

Yet, the flower could not bloom. At least not yet.

I have opened the box, pulled a claw and buried it right under the flower. A piece of the devil, so rich in mana and miasma started emitting a strong magic pulsation. Flower sensed it. Deprived of any other sources of minerals and water it chased after last resource possible – pure magic.

Once again I accelerated its growth, letting roots entwine around it within a single minute. Then, the flower finally started blooming. The outside of the petal was toxic purple, insides pitch-black. It released a very strong, sweet smell. Almost intoxicating.

Dead center of the forest was filled only with bugs and worms of every possible kind, and these were the only creatures lured in by the strong smell. A single, fat fly landed within the petals trying to pollinate it, yet as soon as its legs touched the flower, the petals moved to entrap it inside.

Carnivore plant. Of course. When there isn’t much of nitrogen in the ground, the plant will try to look for other ways of resupplying itself with this life-giving element. I will have to get rid of this trait. Otherwise, I risk growing a mutation that will hunt for life instead of darkness. But I have time. For now, let’s make it produce seeds.

It took around thirty minutes to fully grow the plant and make it bloom, next ten minutes before it decided to create offspring. With no hesitation, I burned the plant after the process and on its ashes, I started growing its children. With this little of nutrition, the seeds should grow faster. Much faster.

On the ashes of the plant that feasted on demonic essence a new shall grow, and upon their ashes, and ashes of these ashes, a new kind of life shall come to see the night. Knowing nothing, but the taste of purest miasma.

- “Rise, my children….” I hummed quietly

- “…The Aira requires your existence.

Cross the veil of the night.

And arise. In the dark.”

Lanele opened the door to Gisele’s room, as the dragoness was getting up from the bed. Right now she was sitting on the edge of the furniture putting on a light shirt.

- “You definitely shouldn’t leave the bed yet.” Priestess said with a concern in her tone

- “I am a big girl, Lana, but thanks.” She said slowly getting up “… see? My wounds are all good!”

- “It’s not the wounds that I am afraid of, but miasma in your body. You need to rest for days before your body would neutralize it, otherwise, you risk some pathology growing in your body.”

- “I… I just can’t sit on one place…”

Hearing words of her friend warrioress fell back on the bed.

- “I bet. You are so full of life all the time, it appears to be impossible to have you in one place all the time.”

- “Yeah, those hours in bed were a pain in the ass!” The redhead hissed quietly.

- “Gis… you were in the bed for two whole days.” Hearing that brows of the dragoness raised in awe.

- “I thought… I regained consciousness an hours ago, and Zari was by my side, so I thought… he also can’t really stay in one place for too long so…”

- “All this time he was by your side. He almost didn’t leave the room at all. He even slept on the floor next to you.”

Lanele lowered herself next to the bed checking on Gisele’s wound. It was still a little purple. The potion that Zariel gave her was fighting with miasma, right now every blood vessel in her body was bit darkened, showing how much of toxic substance still remained in her body.

- “R-really?” Giselle appeared to be deeply embarrassed by it.

- “A-ha…” Lanele noticed a possibility to tease dragoness, and maybe learn something new about her companion “… he was soooo tired, that he actually started talking to me about you.”

Dragoness snorted

- “Suuure.”

- “He said how you met, that, at first, he kept running away from you as you wanted to pulverize him into the ground…” she started with a truth, to make rest of her version more believable.

Hearing that the tip of Giselle’s tail started twitching nervously.

- “He said that with time he would start noticing what a kind, pure and sweet woman you are…” she kept teasing as she started talking the half-truth. In the end, Zari also called her naïve and clumsy.

Yet, the blush on redhead girl’s cheeks started blooming.

- “… and at the end he would end saying how much he loves you and can not imagine his world without you.”

Lanele finished with complete bullshit. He never said that, not with those words. Their love appeared to be still too young to make those two confess their feelings this way. Though his eyes did say something similar.

- “R-Really? He said something like that?” Giselle averted her eyes completely

- “I told you, he was really tired – he just finished fighting with a devil and instead of resting he spent two days and two nights by your side. I am pretty much sure he didn’t even notice that he said it to me.” yet strangely, to Lanele Zariel didn't look physically exhausted at all. Maybe because of his inhuman nature? Or potions?

Giselle froze. Then, the blush covered her whole cheeks, nose, even forehead.

In next moment she would jump back into the bed covering herself with bedding and thus hiding her whole embarrassment from Lanle. Only her tail remained uncovered. It was no longer just twitching, instead, it was violently sweeping from one corner of the bed to another one.

It was so… so… soooo.

CUTE! How can such a brute posses so much innocent purity!? That’s what love is all about! That’s the reaction Lanele wanted to see!...

That’s the reaction Lanele wanted to experience. Pure embarrassment caused by the dedication of the lover. Something that she will never witness. Not in her life.

A single needle of envy pierced elf’s heart with sadness, that needle cause her heart to bleed, leaving her heart empty. A huge, heavy hole appeared to be attracting her whole existence into the ground. A feeling of depression so well-known to Lanele.

She quickly slapped her cheeks twice, getting rid of these thoughts.

She can’t be sad. Being sad for someone’s happiness is the worst possible thing in this world. There is so much anger, hatred, sadness and cruelty on this world, that every act of happiness is a miracle.

… so why, why can’t she find joy in the happiness of her dearest friends?

It was already evening, almost night, when I returned back to ceiling carrying the same box that Jasper gave me around noon.

When I entered the last room in which the whole… interrogation… took place, I noticed the condition of everyone inside.

The werewolf was sitting in the pool of blood, his joints were twisted in strange directions, yet slowly snapping back into place. His regeneration powers abused heavily for the past hours slowed down, as even his magical powers were slowly being exhausted.

Yet what truly shook me, was the faces of members of brotherhood. At first I though they may have some connection with a Church, yet seeing how much mental trauma they suffered by harming another being, even the devil one, I lost most of my doubts.

- “How’s it going, Anotnio?” I asked from the doorstep

- “As I said. You will never break me, pathetic humans.”

Yet, he no longer corrected me mocking his name.

- “I am sad to hear that. I have told you that it would be better if you would say everything we needed to know before I would return… Unfortunately, I succeed in doing what I wanted to… Yes, you heard me right. Unfortunately – because I should have never create this… this… thing.”

I really mean it. I have seen many things on this world. I saw people torturing one another in name of god, yet at tje same time for their own pleasure. I saw a spider making nest of a human body and raising eggs in carcasses. I saw an angel being forcefully born into this world via body of an innocent child. I saw a tumor-like existence which ruled a dungeon…

… yet of all the things, this… creature, was the only existence truly deserving the name of an abomination.

- “Ageroshi…” I decided to use his real name “… please. Don’t make me open this box.”

And once again - I was not playing. Many things went wrong during my little experiment. I was shown in quite brutal way that I should not play the role of the god by shaping existences. After I was done I have burned the center of the forest around the altar. Twice. And then I sterilized the ground and air of every last grain of mana. And then I burned it for the third time.

And after I would be done here, I was going to destroy the content of the box and… this thing, that remained inside.

- “All bark… no bite.” Devil raised his gaze and looked me straight in the eyes “… bring it on, bitch.”

I put the box on the ground, a meter from the werewolf before removing the cover.

The box, was small, a cube 15 centimeters wide, long and tall. Yet what remained inside appeared to be bigger. It’s thin branch-like tentacles left its prison and climbed into the air.

Despite being a plant, it resembled more some kind of spider like abomination. Tentacles – which actually were the roots, tasted the air looking for its favorite food – or actually the only thing it learned to digest – the dark essence.

I was a dark mage too, so during its growth, we had few episodes during which it desperately tried to feast on me. It was before I started to hide by dark mana by coating myself with pure nature essence… and keeping my damn distance.

Yet right now, I was not afraid of becoming its target. In front of me, there was a devil. I was like a piece of rotting garbage in front of a table full of a three-course meal with dessert. Not even a dog would be interested with scraps.

- “What is it?” devil asked as the core of the plant left the box “… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

The devil saw its nature and trembled. Then, for the first time, he started to jerk his body in all direction trying to fight with silver bondage hurting his body in the process.

- “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?” it howled once again.

- “I? I have sinned.”

I admitted. What left the box was just a seed – 10 centimeters tall, growing tentacle-like roots from almost every possible surface. Yet the seed was not just a piece of wood. It was living, pulsating, moving, twisting. The seed, had a tiny baby-like face. It opened its mouth showing that insides of the seed was filled with nothing but a single long extremely thin tongue and suckers along its mouth.

Root-like tentacles grabbed the body of the werewolf approaching the face-like core to the creature’s chest.

It sucked on it, gently cutting the skin allowing the thin tongue to slip into the body, then, it found a vein, it forces itself into it and started traveling via it until it found a heart.

And then, it started sucking.

A monster cried. Not howled, not roared. It cried like a child.

Up until now, I grew these plants using nothing but miasma from the ground and a single claw. You could think about it as if growing something on the soil from Chernobyl.

Right now, I have attached this plant to the whole working nuclear reactor.

There was a moment, a point where I had to stop, yet I have clearly passed it. Now, all I can do is to keep going and see what is about to happen.